The Cinderella Program

Program Summary

For more than forty years, National Grid’s Cinderella economic and community development program has helped to revitalize local communities throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island. Still today, the downstate New York service territory of National Grid includes vacant buildings, urban corridors, and commercial districts that would greatly benefit from the program. Cinderella is designed to assist communities in promoting “smart growth” through the redevelopment of underutilized gas utility infrastructure, to help improve their economic viability, attract new investment, and capitalize on their distinct development potential.

The Cinderella Program provides grants to non-profit development corporations to offset the costs of affordable mixed-use housing and commercial redevelopment

Minimum Program Requirements:

Please review the following program requirements and guidelines carefully. They will help you decide whether you want to apply for this program.

Note: Program assistance is only available to customers located within National Grid’s Downstate New York franchise territory.

To be eligible for this program, the applicant must be:

An authorized development corporation; or

A Non-profit organization

The owner or developer of the eligible site working in partnership with a community development organization

To be eligible for this program, the project must:

Receive natural gas service from National Grid and incorporate natural gas technologies

Be located in a central business district, commercial corridor or targeted building, or redevelopment neighborhood

Show evidence of private sector job creation/retention and capital investment;

Reside in a building/site that is completely vacant or a new development

Upon project completion, show evidence of an active National Grid gas account

Be sustainable and demonstrate use of green building development standards((LEED certified initiatives,) Greening USA’s 12 Traits of Sustainability).

Demonstrate job creation

Funding and Eligibility Guidelines:

Program funding and parameters are established annually by National Grid. Funding is released to a grant award recipient only after the recipient has met all conditions of the program.

The grant award recipient should expect to execute a Funding Agreement with National Grid. The Agreement will outline the expectations of the grant program and the conditions upon which funds will be released.

If you are applying to more than one program for the same project, you must indicate that clearly on the application.

All applications will be evaluated on a variety of factors. Also evaluated will be:

Other Requirements:

Projects demonstrating Greening USA’s “12 Steps of Sustainability” or receiving some level of LEED certification will receive priority consideration and the possibility of additional funding.

Preference will also be given to customers converting to innovative natural gas technologies.

Project must show evidence that a comprehensive assessment of energy efficiency measures was fully investigated and provide documentation pertaining to any completed or pending applications for energy efficiency incentives.

How to Apply

To apply for the Cinderella Program please:

Complete the program application online; and,

Upload all required documentation as noted at the end of your online application.